Mexico’s election body is looking into claims of political meddling before the judicial vote

Mexico’s electoral authority is looking into claims that political parties, including the ruling Morena party, are attempting to influence voters in the country’s next judicial elections, a representative of the organization said Monday.

On Sunday, Mexicans will cast their ballots to select from around 5,000 candidates running for over 840 federal judge and magistrate posts, including all justices of the Supreme Court. These are the first judicial elections in Mexico’s history.

Election regulations prohibit candidates from accepting any form of donation, participating in political party-sponsored events, or using campaign materials that associate them with a political party.

INE is investigating two allegations, Claudia Zavala, an electoral assistant with the election board, told Reuters. In the first, the political party Movimiento Ciudadano (MC) and the administration of the northern state of Nuevo Leon are accused of asking civil personnel to transport voters to polling places and distributing leaflets endorsing the names of candidates.

Similar accusations against the ruling party Morena and state personnel are made in the second case, which is filed in Mexico City, the country’s capital.

Social media users shared recordings of people handing out the booklets, which prompted the investigations.

“We must respect the people, the citizens, the women and men who have the right to go to the polls and freely decide who they want as their judges, magistrates and ministers, … and no one should be telling anyone how to vote,” added Zavala.

Requests for comment from the governments of Morena, MC, and Nuevo Leon were not immediately answered.

After conducting an inquiry, INE will determine whether the regulations have been broken, according to Zavala. The material will then be forwarded to the Federal Judiciary’s electoral tribunal, which will make the final decision.

Former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s reform, which led to Mexico’s first-ever judicial elections, has drawn criticism for potentially granting organized criminal groups more power over the legal system and for potentially eliminating checks and balances on the ruling Morena party.